Make Standardized Testing a Thing of the Past
Persuasive letter with reasons to make standardized testing a thing of the past
Dear Mr. /Madam President,
First, congratulations on becoming president . Of course, as president, there must be a lot of issues that you must be facing. But one problem that you should not take lightly is standardized testing on today’s kids. You have to take action and sign a bill to change standardized testing because of how they affect students and teachers alike, and how long they usually take.
First, I don’t know if you know this, but kids are stressed out all the time. Maybe even your kids or grandkids told you that. And I don’t know if you know any teachers that well, but they are on edge too. This is since standardized testing can be the difference of having a job, or keeping a job for that matter, or just having that dream being shattered in your path. Can I ask you, why should a piece of paper with bubbles control our future when it doesn't even measure your creativity, leadership skills, and the ability to work in groups?
Now, I can see what you may be saying, “But wouldn’t these tests give a basic guideline to teachers on what to teach? Wouldn’t it help our students?” Well, everyone would love to think that, but instead, it leaves teachers “teaching to the test.” It makes teachers worry that they might lose their jobs and go straight on only what the test is about and never deviate from it. In the end, our students will have no difference in knowledge and will know just the same thing and nothing more.
Another thing is that standardized testing takes too long. In studies showing in CNN and Fox News, testing takes about 20-25 hrs for the average 8th grader with about 112 standardized tests in their whole lives. This is about 2.3 percent if the entire school year. Testing should never take that long . Now at least the government is now trying to cut it down to no more than 2%, but even if you agree with Obama or not, you can still see the problem and support him at least on that
I hope you spent a good amount of time reading this, and you can understand my pleas. I would want you to treat this as a top priority and fix this as soon as possible. That being said, I congratulate you on becoming president and I hope you have a nice term in the oval office.
Works Cited
Bertram, Vince. "Standardized Testing Review: Let's Make 'teaching to the Test' a Thing of the past." Fox News. FOX News Network, 16 Nov. 2015. Web. 04 Nov. 2016.
"Testing Time at Schools: Is There a Better Way?" CNN. Cable News Network. Web. 04 Nov. 2016.
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